Branding tool



April 29, 1941. E Q STONE 2,239,761

` BRANDING TooL v Filed Aug. 17, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l j INVENTOR.

'2Q- 4 /e/vesr 57m/- BY MW April 29, 1941.A E.' G. STONE I lBRANDING TOOL 2 Sheets-SheetZ Filed Aug. 1'7, 1940 INVENTOR. eA/557' 57m/'- h "MM 5 MA1/7 pointed needles.

Patented Apr. 29, 1941 UNITED STATESA YPAT}E`.-N"-'I` OFFICE VBRANDING' TOOL Ernest G. Stone, Denver, Colo., assignor torOfM.

Franklin Serum Company, Denver, Colo., a corporation of "Colorado Application August 17, 1940,--Serial No. 353,025

Claims. (01.*101-20) fied and this Yis usually accomplished either by'.' 4burning'the 'brand into the skin or by meansof a tattoo mark.

It is frequently desirable to apply to an animal a number and also one or more letters; the numberrnay indicate'the'registration number and the letter or lettersmayindicate the owners initials.

' The numbers vand initials may, however, be arbitrarily selected'or may have other significations than what has been pointed out above.

Where tattoo branding is employed theears-are usually punctured by means of a tool having letters or numbers or both outlined by a seriesk of After the needles are Withdrawn a branding oil is applied which penetrates the openings in -the skin and 'leaves ya permanent 'visible lmark in the nature of a tattoo.

It isfthe object of thisinvention to produce a simple and substantial branding tool of such construction that the letters or numbers can be readily-changed and will be securely heldin place while in use.

Another object of this invention is to produce a branding tool in which the numbers and the i letters may occupy separate portions thereof and in which they may be'quickly moved into and out of-operativepositions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tool in which any one letterior number can be removed and vreplaced without disturbing 'the others.

A still further object of the invention is to produce a tool in which the stamp head can be quickly and easily turned about an axisto bring either the letters or the numbers into operative position, and another'objectis to produce a type block of such-shape and construction that it can be manufactured at a reasonable cost and which shall be especially well adapted for use with the stamp head of the tool.

The'above and any other objects that may become apparent as this description proceeds are obtained by means of a construction and an arrangement of parts that will now be described in detail and for this purpose reference will be had to the accompanying drawings in which the invention has been illustrated and in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a branding tool embodying this invention.

Figure 2 isa top plane vView of the tool shown in Figure 1.

-pair -of pincers. `end'I5 of lever I2 are handles and extend a con- AFigure 4 is a-section taken'online 4-4,vFig

ure V3.

Figure 5 is anend elevationlof the stamp-block showing oneof the clamp members ininoperative position.

Figure 6 is a section-taken on line-6 6,Fig ure 5.

Figure 7 is Aa Section taken on line 'I--'I, Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a perspective View of a type block.

Figure 9 is a longitudinal section taken on line 9 9, vFigure 8, and,

Figure 10 is a topvplane-view'of the-type block shown'in 'Figure 8.

This invention consists of a tool having two pivotally connected levers Vwhich have been designated by reference characters II and I2. These `levers are connected by means of a-pivot I3 about whichthey'can move rotarily in lthe manner -of a The end I4 of -lever II and the siderable distance from the pivot. The two handles are shaped somewhat differently and the shapes are shown clearly in Figure 1. Each han# dle'is provided with aknob I6, each of which has a-projection I1 that extendslinto the ends of the helical compression spring I8. The spring tends to hold the parts in the open jaw position shown in'Figure 1.

Those parts of levers II and I2 to the left of pivot I3 will be `referred to as jaws. ,The jaw which is integral with lever II has been designated by reference numeral I9 and the corresponding jaw which forms an integral part of lever I2 has been designated by reference numeral 20.

Jaw I9 terminates in a transversely extending elongated support 2l that is provided with a longitudinally extended groove 22 in which is positioned a wooden strip 23 shaped to t the support and which is held in placefby means of screws 24. The Wooden strip 23 has a plane upper Asurface which, if extended, -Would pass through the axis of pivot I3 or at least be parallel to the axis of this pivot.

Jaw 29 terminates in a cylindrical portion 25 which is provided near its outer end with a circular groove 26. 'The cylindrical projection is .alsoprovidedwith openings or depressions?! 'for with the opening in block 29. l Vsion spring 38 is positioned between the members opening 2l.

are secured to the stamp block by screws 4 I consists of a metal block 29, of substantially rectangular cross section. Block 29 has two oppositely positioned plane surfaces 3l] which form supporting surfaces for type blocks that have been designated by reference numeral 3|. The cylindrical portion terminates in a shoulder 32 which limits the inward movement of the stamp block. The stamp block 29 is provided with an opening 33 of the proper size to receive the cylindrical portion 32' and is also provided with an opening in which is positioned a screw 34; this screw is provided with a tapered end which extends into the groove 26 and forms means for and lis. provided with a washer-like abutment plate 35 which is held against longitudinal move- .ment thereon. Pin 35 also extends through a washer-like member 3l which has a pressed t A helical compres- 35 and 3l and tends to move the pin inwardly.

. The outer end of pin 35 is provided with an enlarged head 39 which can be grasped for the purpose of moving the pin outwardly in opposition to itwlll readily be seen that by pulling the pin as outwardly, so as to remove its inner end from the opening 2l, in which it is positioned, the stamp block may be rotated 180 degrees in which position the pin,.when released, will enter the other The purpose of this rotating feature will beV hereinafter explained.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 1, 2 and 3, it will be seen that the stamp block is providedwith two abutments 40 that are formed from substantially rectangular metal rods which The inner surfaces of the abutments 43 are provided vrith spaced notches which formv openings of as means for positioning type blocks 3| in properly spaced relation.

The construction of the type blocks has been shown in Figures 8, 9 and 10 to which reference will now be had. Each type block consists of a metal plate 42 which is substantially rectangular and-whichis provided at one end with a projection 43 of a proper size to fit the openings formed bythe notches in the abutments. Each plate 43 is provided with a central opening 44 which is shownV in Figure 9 and which is also indicated by a dotted line in Figure l0. Attached to each plate 42 is a type block 3| which may be made from type metal or some other readily fusible metal. The type block is molded in a mold of which plate 43 forms one side and during theY molding operation the pins 45 are embedded in the metal so that the parts 3l, 42 and 45 form a unitary assembly which will be referred to as a type block. The pins 45 are arranged to form letters or numbers, asthe case may be, and in Figure 2 type blocks representing numbers I, 2, 3 and 4 have been shown. The plates 42 are of such length that the length of the plate plus the length ofthe projections 43 equals the width of the A. block. as shown most clearly in Figures 4 and 6. 75

It will be noted from Figures 8 and 10 that the plates 42 extend beyond the ends of the block so as to leave a projection 46 which is engaged by clamping member 4l that serves to hold the type block in position on the stamp head. The clamps 4l' are angular or L-shaped, as shown in Figures 4 and `6. One liange engages the front surface of the stamp block and the other overlaps the surface 35 and will therefore engage the projection 46 of the plates 42. Each clamp is provided with a notch 48 for the reception of the shank of a clamping screw 49 which holds the clamps in position. Each clamp is secured to thestamp block by means of pivots 59. When the clamps are moved into the position shown in Figure 5 the type blocks may be removed and inserted by a transverse movement and it will be apparent that either one of the blocks can be removed and replaced by another without disturbing the adjacent blocks because they move transversely and are therefore independently movable.

The type blocks are formed with letters and numbers and can therefore be assembled so as tao have a certain number on one side and a combination of letters on the other side of the block. When the stamp block is in either o-f its two operative positions the corresponding type blocks will be so positioned relative toy the surface of member 23 that the latter will form an abutment and therefore whenever a portion 5I of an animals ear is inserted between the sta-mp block and the abutting surface and the tool closed the pins 45 will penetrate the ear and after the -tool has been opened a suitable branding fluid is supplied which penetrates the opening formed by the pin and leaves an indelible brand or mark.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. In a branding instrument of the tattoo type having two pivotally connected levers correspending ends of which form handles and jaws, one of the jaws -having a cylindrical projection; a stamp head having an opening for the reception of the projection, said stamp head having at least :one elongated plane surface, an abutment extending along one edge thereof, the abutment having a plurality of type positioning openings, and an elongated clamping member movabiy secured to the side of the stamp head opposite the flange, the clamping member having a type engaging portion extending over the plane surface in spaced relation thereto. i

2. In a branding instrument of the tattoo type having two pivotally connected levers corresponding ends of which form handles and jaws, one of the jaws having Ia cylindrical projection; a stamp head having an opening for the reception of the projection, said stamp head having at least one elongated plane surface,l an abutment extending along one edge thereof, the abutment having a plurality of type positioning openings, and an elongated clamping member pivotally attached at one end to the stamp head, said member having 'a type engaging portion extending over the plane surface in spaced relation thereto.

3. A stamp head in accordance wi-th claim 1 in which the 'clamping member has two angularly related flanges, one of which is positioned in engagement with the side of the stamp head opposite the abutment, the other flange extending inwardly over the plane surface in spaced relation thereto, and means for securing the 'clamping member in type engaging position.

4. A stamp head in accordance with claiml in which the clamping member has an angular cross section, one flange overlapping the side of the block opposite from the ange, a pivot eX- tending through the ange and into the block at a point adjacent o-ne end thereof, the other ange projecting over the plane surface in spaced relation theneto.

5. In a branding instrument of fthe tattoo type having tWo pivotally oonnected levers corresponding ends of Which form handles and jaws, one of the jaws having a cylindrical projection, a stamp head having an opening for the reception of the projection, means comprising a spring pressed manually engageable plunger` for positioning the stamp head on the projection, said stamp head having at least one elongated plane surface, an elongated abutment extending along onre edge thereof, the abutment having a plurality of type positioning openings, and an elongated type clamping member pivoted near one end to the stamp head, said' member having two angularly related flanges one of which projects over the plane surface, for engaging type blocks positioned thereon.

ERNEST G. STONE. 

